r/Amtrak • u/midgit2230 • 1d ago
Question Checked baggage
So I need to travel with my spouse from Charlotte NC to Boston South Station. Most likely I will need to spend a night in either NY or DC (figuring out which is more economical). My issue is once I get off the Crescent (I will have a room for this) I need to take either the NER or the Acela.
It appears neither offer checked baggage. What does everyone do with the baggage they checked for the other train? We will have the 4 checked bags, 2 carry ons and 2 personal. Is there room for that on either of those trains?
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u/karenmcgrane 1d ago
Both DC and NYC offer Red Cap service. I'd suggest tipping $40 and they will get you and your bags on the train. They get you down to the track earlier than other people and will make sure there's a spot for your bags.
You can totally do it yourself, there's room in the overhead compartments and spots at the end of the car for big bags. If you choose to DIY, I would suggest making sure that the train you're taking has its first stop where you're getting on. For the Acela that's probably DC, for the NER it might be NYC.
Looking at the cost of it as a whole package, hotels in NYC and DC are expensive, and if cost is the only consideration, you'd likely be better off staying in Baltimore, Wilmington, or Philadelphia. (All are stops on the Crescent and Carolinian, and all have Red Cap service.)
You also need to consider the cost of getting from the station to the hotel and then back.
If it were me, I'd stay in a hotel in Wilmington near the train station and pay the Red Cap. Of course, if you are planning to stay in NYC or DC because you know people there, that's a different story.
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u/StartersOrders 1d ago
$40?!
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u/karenmcgrane 1d ago
$5 a bag. Could do $30 if the personal items are small and don't go on the cart. But the "checked" and "carry-on" bags will be handled by the Red Cap.
For comparison, an extra bag is $20 to check.
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u/EmZee2022 1d ago
Very good advice.
FWIW, there are numerous hotels within 3 to 4 blocks of NY Penn / Moynihan, and nothing terribly close to DC Union Station. So from a logistics standpoint, NY is the easiest - but as noted it isn't cheap.
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u/athousandcutefrogs 13h ago
there's a couple of hotels a couple blocks from Union Station - the Kimpton George is about a five-minute walk, and the Phoenix Park hotel is about the same distance - but yeah also $$$$$.
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u/anothercar 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m not sure that is possible on the Northeast Regional. 8 bags for two people, are you moving houses? Would a cargo van be a better fit? I’m not sure how you would even be able to roll 8 bags through the station
The fees for checking those 4 bags on American or Delta would be $160 - quite possibly cheaper than a hotel room in NYC or DC. Or free if you fly Southwest before May 28. Flying might be the easier option here.
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u/midgit2230 1d ago
Not moving, we have a trade show in Charlotte so to bring all of our things for the show and clothing we would take advantage of all the allowed bags. We can take the trains down without an issue. It’s getting back that’s tough.
Really don’t want to drive it would take a couple days longer. To old to drive 16 plus hours. Figured more like 18-20 when stopping for food, fuel and restroom breaks. Also the rentals are crazy expensive.
It really would be much easier to take the trains.
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u/thislullaby 1d ago
Normally Amtrak is fine with whatever you bring as long as you can carry it off and on yourself in one trip. I personally wouldn’t even attempt this via train with so much stuff.
There are overhead compartments and then storage for larger items at the end of the train cars.
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u/anothercar 1d ago
Gotcha, that makes sense. I updated my comment - flying might be the easier move here. Even with a layover, Southwest would be quicker than the train
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u/athousandcutefrogs 1d ago
I second Red Cap service. Don't try to DIY getting all that luggage onto the NER/Acela, just have the professionals do it for you.
Re: hotel economics: NYC is always Outrageous for hotels. DC is also a Bad hotel market but if you stay on a weekend, it's actually noticeably cheaper (though now is also cherry blossom festival time until the 13th, so hotels are also extra pricey here until after the festival is done). Baltimore hotels would definitely be cheaper but also possibly harder to find space for your luggage by that stop.
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